Doctorados virtuales centroamericanos: educomunicación, formación de tutores y calidad en la producción de conocimiento

A wide offer of quality doctorate degrees stimulates a greater production of research and new knowledge that contribute to the development of science. Virtual education can contribute to expanding this offer. However, in Central America, doctoral degrees are limited, despite an increase in the offer of master’s degree programs in recent decades (more than 2000). Of the total of postgraduate degrees, 2% correspond to doctorate degrees programs and out of this amount, virtual programs barely reach a 2%. The bodies responsible for accrediting the quality of regional postgraduate courses do not have specific evaluation models for the virtual modality. In this context, this study was carried out to identify factors that guarantee the quality of virtual doctorate degrees in Central American contexts and determine areas of training for tutors in this modality of higher education. With a qualitative methodology, applying the phenomenological method and the focused interview technique, an intentional non-probabilistic sample was established with 40 virtual postgraduate teachers from the six Central American countries, reaching the level of information saturation. As a conclusion, it is confirmed that the quality of a doctorate degree requires ensuring factors that guarantee the development of solid research skills and the generation of original scientific knowledge that could contribute to the advancement of science, among these, an adequate communication between tutors and students and an educommunication training.